Travel (Polish)
There isn't a general verb in Polish to express movement, like to go in English, gaan in Dutch or menni in Hungarian. Polish has several verbs, depending on the means of transportation and on the direction.
The chapters addressing the various verbs or concepts, are not alphabetically: I tried to put them in order of relevance.
Overview
Don't get overwhelmed by this list: Anybody can make such a long list, by just abusing a dictionary. This is a rather arbitrary list that I collected in the wild, by mostly by following links from one article on Wiktionary to another:
| Polish | Notes |
|---|---|
| chodzić (impf - det) | To walk, to go, etc. |
| iść (impf - indet) | To walk; to go (by foot); figuratively to go. E.g.: confirming computer input |
| jechać (impf - det) | To go (drive or ride) |
| jeździć (impf) | To ride, to drive, to go: jeździć na rowerze |
| latać (impf) | To fly (indeterminate) |
| lecieć (impf) | To fly (determinate) |
| odjazd (noun) | Departure (of a vehicle) |
| odlot (noun) | Departure (of a plane) |
| podróż (noun, f) | trip |
| podróżować (impf) | to travel |
| pojechać (pf) | go (drive or ride) |
| pójść (pf) | To walk; to go (by foot). impf: iść |
| przybycie (noun) | Arrival (general, formal) |
| przybyć (pf) | To arrive (general) |
| przychodzić (impf) | To arrive (on foot) |
| przyjazd (noun) | Arrival (of a bus or train, any vehicle?) |
| przyjechać (pf) | To arrive (driving or riding) |
| przylatywać (verb) | To arrive (by flying) |
| przylot (noun) | Arrival (by plane) |
| wracać (impf) | To come back; to go back; to return, etc. |
| wyruszać (impf) | To set off; to start out; to set forth - Google Maps uses this |
iść - idę/idziesz (impf-det)
iść is probably the most common verb in Polish to indicate movement. Although it is about going somewhere without steering or driving, it can be used figuratively to indicate movement in general. It is an determinate verb, meaning that it is about a one-time action, usually in a specific direction.
- Imperfective - determinate
- Associated perfective action: pójść
- Associated indeterminate: chodzić.
Examples
- idę do sklepu - I go to the shop - When it's clear that the shop is reachable by foot
- idziemy! - Let's go!
- To idzie falami - It goes in waves
jechać - jadę/jedziesz (impf-det)
jechać is probably the main counterpart to iść: A general verb that indicates to go, but with a vehicle, or formulated differently: by steering or driving. Similar to iść, it is an determinate verb, indicating a one-time action, usually in a specific direction.
- Imperfective - determinate
- Perfective: pojechać
- Indeterminate: jeżdzić.
Examples:
- Jedziemy na urlop - We go on holiday
chodzić - chodzę/chodzisz (impf-indet)
chodzić is the indeterminate equivalent to iść, indicating recurrent travel or movement, without steering or riding:
- często chodzę do restauracji - I often go to restaurants
jeździć - jeżdżę/jeździsz (impf-indet)
jeździć is the indeterminate counterpart of jechać, indicating frequent movement or travel by steering or riding:
- często jeździmy do Polski - We often go to Poland
Sources
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chodzić#Polish
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/iść
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jechać#Polish
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pojechać
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pójść
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/przyjazd
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/przylatywać#Polish
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/przylot
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wracać#Polish
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wyruszać